The French love their food and it is quite evident when you see the cafes and arty restaurants filled with Parisians cherishing every bit of their food.
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| Parisians celebrating their food |
We went to France
last week, unfortunately we did only Paris, but I did experience a little bit
of the French cuisine and a peek at their food culture. There are about 5000
restaurants in Paris alone..too many choices ..too little time :)
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| A street full of restaurants in Paris |
Breakfast:
The French have a small breakfast which usually consists of
freshly made croissants and coffee. We had a breakfast buffet at our hotel ‘L Atlier
Montparnesse’ which had a wide selection of items to choose from. (Considering
the tastes of their European guests)
Our breakfast was a cup of coffee/ orange juice with a selection of croissants –
Croissants, Pain au Chocolat (chocolate croissants),
Pain Raisin (raisin croissants) oeufs brouilles (scrambled eggs) ,butter and
Toast,, marmalades, fromage (cheese) Jambon (Ham), Bacon, sausages. There was
also fresh and fruit yogurts.
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Breakfast at the hotel
(Pic Courtesy- the hotel website) |
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The Breakfast Buffet at the hotel
(Pic Courtesy- the hotel website) |
Lunch:
After such a heavy breakfast and the limited time to explore
Paris, we usually skipped our lunch or had a quick small meal – a Baguette
sandwich mostly and a dessert (the desserts in Paris are to die for- they are
light, rich, subtle yet sublime in taste.
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| Baguette Sandwich from Paul's |
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| Chocolate Pastry at Paul's |
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| Ham and cheese on Toast |
Snacks:
After wandering about on the streets of Paris, astonished by at the rich heritage of arts and architecture of the city and standing in awe gazing at the different tourists sites, a quick snack was much needed.
For the snacks, we had Crepes, Waffles, Ice creams , a quick bite of a dessert. Anything which was easy to carry around and eat.
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| Chocolate Croissant |
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| Savory Chicken Crepe |
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| Crepe filling: Chicken,Cheese,Tomato |
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| Amaretto and Hazelnut flavor Gelato |
Dinner:
We decided to go for a 3 course meal-
We had a choice
between salad and a soup- We decided to go for the traditional French Onion
Soup.
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| French Onion Soup |
This soup is quite popular in France and is made of a meat
broth with onions and then gratinated under the grill with croutons and Gruyere
cheese. It was served in a ramekin with slices of baguette in the side. It had
the most delicate flavor of onion with lightly seasoned broth with melt in
your mouth cheese. The baguette slices added the crunch to the soup. A truly mild yet flavorful soup.
Next for the entres we decided to try Escargots- a French
delicacy.
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Escargots (Snails)
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This was my first time of eating a snail and yes I was quite
apprehensive. But when it was served I could smell the garlic butter and the
herbs (nothing obnoxious about it) After trying it I can say – I loved it!!!
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| Escargots served in their original shell |
Tiny bits of chewy meat masked with a strong flavor of garlic butter and
herbs.
For the mains we had Chicken in Paprika sauce with fries.
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| Chicken in Paprika sauce with Fries |
The chicken was cooked to perfection and the béchamel sauce had a slight hint
of paprika. The fries had nothing french about it just an accompaniment to the
dish. Overall the dish was quite average- I wish there was more sauce in it and
yes more paprika of course :P
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| The Quintessential French Wine |
No French food is complete without its wine.We tried the red wine from Burgundy. I am not too much into
wines (though I plan to do a small course on wines soon) but I can say it was a
good wine.Gentle on the palette, it was light and had a fruity bouquet.
For the dessert we had Chocolate mousse.Again quite an
averge dish- simple presentation, light ,spongy texture, perfect on sweetness.
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| Chocolat Mousse |
Overall experience was very nice.The restaurant itself was quite a peice of art with black and white images and wine bottles displayed on their walls.
So whats my take on the food??
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| The artistic Decor |
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| The great presentations |
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| Food Culture- A way of Life in Paris!! |
The French cuisine is an experience rather than just food- it is the culmination of the decor, food presentations, the language on the menu card, bringing together all your senses to experience and celebrate good food!!!
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